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SCIENCE 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 



* 



/ 

Edward T. Williams, M. D. 



Read befoee the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 
February 14, 1877. 



BOSTON : 

LOCKWOOD, BROOKS, AND COMPANY 

381 Washington Street. 

1878. 




r 






Copgrtgfjt, ISIS, 
2Sjj fE&foarH £. ©Stlltamg* 



Albert J. Wright, Printer, No. 79 Milk Street, Boston. 



INTRODUCTORY, 



This little study is intended as a practical 
help to the student of French, and as an orig- 
inal contribution to philology. 

The principal difficulty in learning the 
French verbs arises from the confused and 
unscientific treatment of the subject in the 
grammars. The verbs selected as models are 
usually those which differ most widely from 
the true or Latin type of conjugation, while 
those classed as irregular are as a rule exactly 
the reverse. In the following pages an at- 
tempt has been made to present the subject 
in its natural relations. 

The fundamental fact of the normal conju- 
gation of the present stem in French is, as 
we believe, methodically stated for the first 
time. The simplicity of the conjugational 
scheme thereon constructed will, it is hoped, 



4 INTRODUCTORY, 

commend itself. It will be found useful for 
all classes of students. 

The scientific observations, included mainly 
under Part II., are also, so far as we are 
aware, original. Respecting the syncopation 
of consonants, Brachet, one of the most recent 
authorities, speaks as follows: "The subject 
of the syncope of consonants has hitherto 
been but little studied, and it is not yet 
known what exact law it follows." (Histori- 
cal Grammar, p. 81, note.) We have endeav- 
ored to demonstrate the law, and to trace its 
effects, which are highly important, upon con- 
jugation. The persistence of the Latin a in 
final syllables, with its peculiar influence on 
the first conjugation of verbs, on subjunctives, 
and on the third person plural of the present 
indicative, is a point hitherto unnoticed. The 
attempted restoration of the French inflection 
to a Latin type is unique. It is believed, 
however, to be fully borne out, not only by 
phonology, but by careful comparison with the 
Old French and the kindred tongues. The 
singular effects of the interpolation of conso- 



INTRODUCTORY. 5 

nants on the conjugation of certain verbs, 
commonly classed as regular, are to be par- 
ticularly noticed. The whole is offered .as a 
solution, or an attempted solution, of what 
has long been the most difficult problem in 
Romance philology. 

It is intended as a supplement to the ordi- 
nary treatises on the same subject. 

PRINCIPAL AUTHORITIES. 

Brachet. Historical Grammar of the French 
Tongue. Oxford. 1869. 

Burguy. Grammaire de la Langue d'Oil. 
Berlin. 1853-56. 3 vols. 

Diez. Grammatik der romanischen Spra- 
chen. Bonn. 1870-72. 3 vols. 

Littre. Dictionnaire de la Langue Fran- 
§aise. Paris. 1863-72. 4 vols. 



THE SCIENCE OF 



THE SCIENCE OF FEENCH CONJUGATION. 



PART I. 

Practical, 

French verbs, like the Latin, are divided 
into four conjugations, distinguished by their 
infinitive endings ; namely, — 

1st conj. er (Lat. are) ; as, aimer (Lat. 
amare). 

2d conj. oir (Lat. ere) ; as, devoir (Lat. 
debere). 

3d conj. re (Lat. Sre) ; as, vivre (Lat. 
vivere) . 

4th conj. ir (Lat. ire) ; as, dormir (Lat. 
dormire). 

The conjugation of a French verb is effected, 
as in Latin, by a double process : 1st, by vari- 
ation of the verb stem ; 2d, by variation of 
the ending. 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 7 

The Latin verb, as is known, has three roots ; 
the French verb also has three principal roots, 
corresponding to the Latin ones from which 
they are derived ; it has also certain minor 
variations of the first or present root, offering 
no analogy with the Latin. 

It will be convenient to consider separately 
the parts derived from the three Latin roots. 

The 1st Latin Root. 

The parts derived from the 1st Latin root 
are the infinitive and present participle, the 
present and imperfect indicative, the present 
subjunctive, and the imperative. 

The appropriate endings of the four conju- 
gations are exhibited in the following table : — 

Table. 1 

Infinitive. 

I. II. III. IV. 

(1) er. (1) oir. (1) re. (1) ir. 

1 The figures in parentheses indicate the places of the three 
stems, as explained farther on. When the 3d stem is want- 
ing, the 1st is to be used in its place. 



THE SCIENCE OF 



Present Participle. 
I. II. III. IV. 

v ^ , j 



(1) ant. 



Present Indicative. 

II. III. IV. 



(1) e. (2)Z 

(1) es. (2) s. 

(1) e (t). (2) t. 



(i) ODS, 

(1) ez. 

(3) ent. 

Imperfect Indicative. 
I. II. ill. IV. 

(1) ais. 
(1) ais. 
(1) ait. 
(1) ions. 
(1) iez. 
(1) aient. 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 

Present Subjunctive. 
I. II. III. IV. 



V 


(3)e. 


(3) es. 


(3)e. 


(1) ions. 


(1) iez. 


(3) ent. 



Imperative. 
I. II. III. IV. 

(1) e. (2)s. 

i ¥ _j 

(1) ez. 

&m Changes. Verbs of the 1st conjuga- 
tion preserve the same stem in all the parts 
derived from the 1st Latin root. 

Example, aimer; stem, aim. 

Verbs of the 2d conjugation usually have 
three forms of the present stem. First, the 
etymological or long stem, corresponding to 
the Latin, and found in the infinitive, the pres- 
ent participle, the 1st and 2d persons plural 



10 THE SCIENCE OF 

of the present indicative, the imperfect indica- 
tive, the 1st and 2d persons plural of the 
present subjunctive, and the 2d person plural 
of the imperative, — the places marked (1) in 
the table, pages 7-9, — or, generally speaking, 
in those places where the Latin ending contains 
more than one syllable. 

Example, devoir; 1st stem, dev. 

In conjugating, insert this stem in the places 
marked (1). 

Second, the syncopated or short stem, formed 
by cutting off the final consonant of the long 
stem, with or without a change of vowel, and 
found in the 1st, 2d, and 3d persons singular 
of the present indicative and the 2d person 
singular of the imperative, — the places marked 
(2) in the table, pages 7-9. The change of 
vowel, it may be stated, is owing to the position 
of the Latin accent. 1 

Example, devoir; 2d stem, doi. 

In conjugating, insert this stem in the places 
marked (2). 

1 For a succinct account of the laws of Franco-Romanization, 
see Bracket, Historical Grammar, pp. 66-76, and elsewhere. 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. \\ 

Third, the third stem, having the final con- 
sonant of the first with the vowel or diphthong 
of the second stem, found in the 3d person 
plural of the present indicative and the 1st, 
2d, and 3d persons singular and 3d person 
plural of the present subjunctive, — the places 
marked (3) in the table, pages 7-9. 

Example, devoir; 3d stem, doiv. 

In conjugating, insert this stem in the places 
marked (3). 

The regular verbs of the 2d conjugation are 
the following : — 

Devoir (debere) ; 1. dev; 2. doi; 3. doiv. 

Mouvoir (movere) ; 1. mouv; 2. meu; 3. 
meuv. 

Eecevoir (recipere) ; 1. recev ; 2. regoi; 3. 
re§oiv. 

The other verbs in cevoir, compounds of the 
Latin capere, are conjugated like recevoir. 

The 3d stem is wanting in some verbs, in 
which case the 1st or long stem is used in its 
place. 

The following are more or less irregular : — 

Pouvoir (Low Latin potere for posse) ; 1. 



12 THE SCIENCE OF 

pouv; 2. peu ; 3. peuv. It retains the Latin 
form puis (possum) and the Latin subjunctive 
puisse (possim), etc. 1 

Vouloir (Low Latin volere for velle). 1. 
voul ; 2. veu; 3. veul. The subjunctive 
veuille, etc., corresponds to a barbarous Latin 
form, voleam. The imperative veuillez is an 
old subjunctive form used imperatively. 1 

Valoir (valere) ; 1. val ; 2. vau. It retains 
the Latin subjunctive vaille (valeam), etc. 1 

Avoir (habere) : 1. av; 2. a. It retains the 
Latin forms ai (habeo), ont (habent), and the 
Latin subjunctive aie (habeam), etc. It omits 
the personal ending (t) of the 3d person sin- 
gular of the present indicative (a), and retains 
it in the 3d person singular of the present sub- 
junctive (ait). The participle ayant corre- 
sponds to a barbarous Latin form, habient- 
is. 2 The so-called imperative forms are simply 
subjunctives used imperatively. 

Savoir (sapere) ; 1. sav; 2. sai. It retains 

1 It is almost superfluous to remark, that the personal ending, 
x, in peux, veux, and vaux, is precisely equivalent to s. The 
two letters were used indifferently in Old French. 

2 On the model of an io verb. 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 13 

the Latin participle sachant (sapient-is) and 
subjunctive sache (sapiam), etc. The so- 
called imperatives are old forms of the sub- 
junctive. 

Voir (videre) ; 1. voy ; 2. voi ; 3. vok 

Pleuvoir (pluere) ; l.pleuv; 2. pleu. De- 
fective. 

Falloir (fall ere) ; 1. fall ; 2. fau. Defective. 

Asseoir (assidere) ; 1. assey ; 2. assie (d). 
It interpolates d before s in the 2d stem, and 
changes the personal ending (t) of the 3d per- 
son singular of the present indicative into d. 
Instances of a similar interpolation will be 
given farther on. 

Verbs of the 3d conjugation usually have but 
two forms of the present stem, the long and 
the short, corresponding precisely with those 
of the 2d conjugation. As the 3d stem is 
wanting, the 1st or long stem is used in its 
place, as in verbs of the 2d conjugation. 

The following are strictly regular : — 

Vivre (vivere) ; 1. viv; 2. vi. 

Suivre (Low Latin sequere for sequi) ; 1, 
suiy; 2. suL 



14 THE SCIENCE OF 

The stem of the infinitive presents certain 
euphonic changes. 

1st. The following verbs syncopate the stem 
of the infinitive : — 

Lire (legere) ; 1. lis; 2. li. 

Ecrire (scribere) ; 1. ecriv ; 2. ecri. 

Cuire (coquere) ; 1. cuis ; 2. cui. 

Luire (lucere) ; 1. luis ; 2. lui. 

Nuire (nocere) ; 1. nuis ; 2. nui. 

Plaire (placere) ; 1. plais ; 2. plai. 

Taire (tacere) ; 1. tais ; 2. tai. 

Compounds in duire, struire, dire, and fire ; 
as, — 

Conduire (conducere) ; 1. conduis ; 2. con- 
dui. 

Coustruire (construere) ; 1. construis ; 2. 
construi. 

Contredire (contradicere) ; 1. contredis ; 
2. contredi. 

Suffire (sufficere) ; 1. suffis ; 2 sufE. 

Also dire, faire, and boire. 

2d. Verbs whose stems end in gn (Latin 
ng or m) insert d before r in the infinitive. 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 15 

Peindre (pingere) ; 1. peign ; 2. pein. 
Teindre (tingere) ; 1/teign; 2. tein. 
Feindre (fingere) ; 1. feign; 2. fein. 
Ceindre (cingere) ; 1. ceign ; 2. cein. 
Joindre (jungere) ; 1. joign ; 2. join. 
Oindre (ungere) ; 1. oign ; 2. oin. 
Plaindre (plangere) ; 1. plaign ; 2. plain. 
Craindre (tremere) ; 1. craign ; 2. crain. 

3d. Verbs whose stems end in ss (Latin sc) 
insert t before r in the infinitive. The s, 
though retained in the Old French, is now 
dropped. 

Croitre (crescere) ; 1. croiss ; 2. eroi. 

Paitre (pascere) ; 1. paiss ; 2. pai. 

Naitre (Low Latin nascere for nasci) ; 1. 
naiss ; 2. nai. 

Connaitre (cognoscere) ; 1. connaiss ; 2. 
connai. 

Paraitre (parescere) ; 1. paraiss ; 2. parai. 

Also etre (Low Latin essere for esse). 

4th. Verbs whose stems end in 1 and Iv in- 
sert d before r in the infinitive. The 1 (lv), 
though retained in Old French, is now dropped. 



16 THE SCIENCE OF 

Absoudre (absolvere) ; 1. absolv ; 2. absou. 
Resoudre (resolvere) ; 1. resolv; 2. resou. 
Also moudre (molere). 

5th. Verbs whose stems end in d preceded 
by n or r retain the full stem in the infinitive. 
They also interpolate d in certain of the places 
ordinarily occupied by the 2d stem, namely, the 
1st and 2d persons singular of the present in- 
dicative and 2d person singular of the imper- 
ative, and change the personal ending (t) of 
the 3d person singular of the present indica- 
tive into d. 

The stem of these verbs was regularly syn- 
copated in Old French, thus conforming to the 
organic law of the language. 1 

Vendre (vendere) ; 1. vend; 2. ven(d). 

Tendre (tendere) ; 1. tend; 2. ten(d). 

Eendre (reddere) ; 1. rend; 2. ren(d). 

Fendre (findere) ; 1. fend; 2. fen(d). 

Pendre (pendere) ; 1. pend ; 2. pdn(d). 

1 Je vends, tu vends, il vend were written in Old French, je 
vens, tu vens, il vent. Examples of the same sort of interpola- 
tion are found in other words; as corps, 0. Fr. cors; temps, 
O. Fr. tens, etc. 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 17 

Descendre (descendere) ; 1. descend; 2. 
descen(d). 

Fondre (fundere) ; 1. fond; 2. fon(d). 

Tondre (tondere) ; 1. tond ; 2. ton(d). 

R6pondre (respondere) ; 1. repond ; 2. re- 
pon(d). 

Repandre (re-expandere) ; 1. repand; 2. 
r£pan(d). 

Perdre (perdere) ; 1. perd ; 2. per(d). 

Mordre (mordere) ; 1. mord ; 2. rnor(d). 

Tordre (torquere) ; 1. tord ; 2. tor(d). 

Rompre and vaincre interpolate the final 
consonant (p, c) in all the parts ordinarily 
occupied by the 2d stem ; while the latter, by 
a double blunder, drops the personal ending 
(t) of the 3d person singular of the present 
indicative. 

In Old French both verbs were entirely 
regular. 

Rompre (rumpere) ; 1. romp; 2. romp. 

Vainci'e (vincere) ; 1. vainq ; 2. vainc. 

The final letter of the stem is similarly 
interpolated in mettre, battre, moudre, and 
coudre. 

2 



18 THE SCIENCE OF 

Mettre (mittere) ; 1. inett; 2. me(t). 
Battre (battuere) ; 1. bait; 2. ba(t). 
Moudre (molere) ; 1. moul ; 2. mou(d). 
Coudre (consuere) ; 1. cous ; 2. cou(dJ. 

The verb boire has three stems, like a verb 
of the 2d conjugation. 

Boire (bibere) ; 1. buv ; 2. boi ; 3. boiv. 

The following are more or less irregular : — 

Dire (dicere) ; 1. dis ; 2. di. It retains 
the Latin form dites (dicitis). 

Faire (facere) ; 1. fids; 2. fai. It retains 
the Latin forms faites (faeitis), font (faciunt), 
and the Latin subjunctive fasse (faciam), etc. 

Prendre (prehendere) ; 1. prend ; 2, 
pren(d) ; 3. prenn. It interpolates a d in 
the 2d stem. 

Verbs of the 4th conjugation have either 
two or three stems. 

The following are regular :— 
Dormir (dormire) ; 1. dorm; 2. dor. 
Sentir (sentire) ; 1. sent; 2. sen. 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 19 

Mentir (Low Latin mentire for mentiri) ; 1. 
merit ; 2. men. 

Partir (partire) ; 1. part; 2. par. 

Sortir (Low Latin sortire for sortiri) ; 1. 
sort; 2. sor. 

Servir (servire) ; 1. serv ; 2. ser. 

Bouillir (builire) ; 1. bouill ; 2. bou. 

Verbs whose stems end in n and r form the 
2d stem without syncopation. 

Venir (venire) ; 1. ven ; 2. vien ; 3. vienn. 

Tenir (tenere) ; 1. ten; 2.tien; 3. tienn. 

Mourir (Low Latin morire for moriri) ; 1. 
lour; 2. meur ; 3. meur. 

Courir (currere) ; 1. cour ; 2. cbur; 3. 
lour. 

Acquerir (acquirere) ; l.acquer; 2.acquier; 
ft. acquier. 

Vetir interpolates a consonant in the 2d stem. 
i V6tir (vestire) ; 1. vet; 2. ve(t). 

The following are conjugated on a single 
iptem, like verbs of the first conjugation r 1 — 

f l This assimilation is entirely accidental, the e in ouvre, 
; ouvres, etc., like that in livre (liber), pauvre (pauper), being a 
mere trick of spelling. 



20 THE SCIENCE OF 

Ouvrir (aperire) : 1. ouvr. 
Couvrir (eo-operire) ; 1. couvr. 
Offrir (offerre) ; 1. offr. 
Souffrir (sufferre) : 1. souffr. 
Saillir (salire) ; 1. saill. 

The class of verbs called inceptives are 
regular except in the infinitive, which is 
formed on a simple, non-inceptive Latin stem. 
Examples : — 

Finir (finire, finiscere) ; 1. finiss ; 2. fini. 

Punir (punire, puniscere) ; 1. puniss ; 2. 
pimi. 

Fleurir (florere, florescere) ; 1. fleuriss; 2. 
fleuri, etc. 1 

The Future Tense and Conditional Mode.— 
The future and conditional are formed, as is 
well known, by the addition of certain endings 
to the infinitive. 

1 The practical view of the whole matter of stem variation, so 
far as concerns the parts derived from the first Latin root, is 
this,— that the French verb regularly conjugates the present 
stem, while the Latin leaves it unchanged throughout. The ex- 
planation of this seeming anomaly will be given in Part II. 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 21 

The following are irregular : — 

Envoyer (O. Fr. enveier) forms its future 
enverrai on the old form of the infinitive. 

Verbs of the 2d conjugation form the 
future by contracting the long vowel of the 
infinitive with the usual euphonic changes. 
Avoir, aurai. valoir, vaudrai. 

Savoir, saurai. falloir, faudra. 

Pouvoir, pourrai. devoir, devrai. 

Voir, verrai, mouvoir, mouvrai. 

Dechoir, decherrai. pleuvoir, pleuvra. 
Asseoir, assierai. recevoir, recevrai, etc. 

Vouloir, voudrai. 

A 

Etre has serai, from essere, Low Latin for 
esse. 

Tenir (tiendrai) and venir (viendrai) follow 
the analogy of the 2d conjugation. 

Mourir (mourrai), courir (courrai), acqu^rir 
(acquerrai), being originally verbs of the 3d 
conjugation (Latin and Old French), form 
their future accordingly. 

Inceptives of the 4th conjugation, having 
a non-inceptive infinitive, are necessarily non- 
inceptive in the future. 



22 THE SCIEXCE OF 

The 2d Latin Hoot. 

The parts derived from the 2d Latin root 
are the perfect indicative and perfect subjunc- 
tive. The stem is the same in both. 

The Latin perfects of the 2d and 3d conju- 
gations bear the accent on the stem, those of 
the 1st and 4th conjugations upon the ending. 
It follows that the perfects of the 2d and 3d 
French conjugations are naturally strong (con- 
tracted), while those of the 1st and 4th are 
weak (uucontractecl). 

The Weak Perfects. — The 1st and 4th con- 
jugations follow the Latin regulars; as, aimai 
(amavi), clormis (dormivi). 

Exceptions. Tins, tins, mourus, courus. 

The Strong Perfects. — The 2d conjugation 
also follows the Latin regulars ; as, dus (debui) . 

Exceptions. Voulus and valus are weak. 
Vis (vidi) and assis (assecli) follow their Latin 
prototypes. 

Third Conjugation. — The following are 
Latin : — 

Fis, dis, mis, pris, fris, ris. 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 23 

The following are formed on the analogy of 
the 2d conjugation : — 

Strong: bus, lus, cms, crtis, plus, tus, pus, 
. connus, conclus. Weak: vecus, moulus. 

The following observe the analogy of the 
4th conjugation : — 

1st. Interpolates, verbs whose stems end 
in a liquid and a mute :— 

Vendis, renclis, tendis, fendis, pendis, de- 
scendis, fondis, tondis, r^pondis, r^pandis, per- 
dis, mordis, tordis, rompis, vainquis. 

2d. Verbs whose stems end in gn : — 

Peignis, teignis, feignis, ceignis, joignis, 
oignis, plaignis, craignis. 

3d. Compounds induire (ducere) and struire 
(struere), and others whose infinitives end in 
uire : — 

Conduisis, construisis, cuisis, luisis, nuisis, 
etc. 

4th. Ecrivis, suivis, naquis, battis, cousis. 

The 3d Latin Hoot. 
The perfect participle, the representative of 



24 THE SCIENCE OF 

the 3d Latin root, may be either strong or 
weak, like the perfect. 

Weak Participles. — The 1st and 4th conju- 
gations have weak participles, corresponding to 
the Latin regulars; as, aime (amatum), -dor- 
mi (dormitum). 

Exceptions. Mort (mortuus) , ouvert (aper- 
tum), couvert (co-opertum), acquis (acquisi- 
tum), oftert, souffert, venu, tenu, couru, 
vetu. 

Strong Participles. — The 2d conjugation has 
a strong participle ending in u, as du. 

Exceptions, Voulu and valu are weak; sis 
(sessum) is Latin. 

Third Conjugation. — The following are 
Latin : — 

Fait (factum), dit (dictum), ecrit (scrip- 
turn), mis (missum), ri (risum), pris (prehen- 
sum), trait (tractum), ne (natus), cuit (coc- 
turn), frit (frictum). 

Those derived from compounds in duire (du- 
cere), and struire (struere) ; as, — 

Conduit (conductum), construit (construc- 
tum), etc. 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 25 

Those derived from verbs whose steins end 
in gn : — 

Teint (tinctum), ceint (cinctum), joint 
(junctum), oint (unctuin), plaint (planctum), 
craint (tremitum), peint (pictum), feint (fic- 
tum). 

The following are formed on the analogy of 
the 2d conjugation : — 

Strong. Bu, lu, cm, cru, plu, tu, pu, connu, 
conclu ; in short, those derived from verbs 
which follow the same analogy in the perfect. 

Weak. Those derived from interpolatives, 
verbs whose stems end in a liquid and a mute : 
Vendu, rendu, tendu, fendu, pendu, descen- 
du, fondu, tondu, repondu, repandu, perdu, 
mordu, tordu, rompu, vaincu. 

Likewise the following : moulu, cousu, bat- 
tu, vecu. 

Suivi follows the analogy of the 4th conju- 
gation. 



26 THE SCIEXCE OF 

PART II. 
Theoretical. 
The Syncopation of Consonants. 
When two or more consonants, in the pas- 
sage of a Latin word into the French, are 
brought together by the contraction of an un- 
accented syllable, the first, or if more than 
two all but the last, are dropped. 1 

Examples. 
Frigidus, froid ; rigidus, roide ; tepid us, 
tiede ; calidus, chaud ; calamus, chaume ; 
balsamnm, baume ; insula, ile ; anima, ame ; 
asinus, ane ; cubitus, coude ; masculus, male; 
musculus, moule : juvenis, jeune ; butyrum, 
beurre ; fragilis, frele ; gracilis, grele ; frax- 
inus, frene ; platanus, plane; oculus, ceil; 

1 The authorities make no distinction between this case and the 
dropping of a consonant before a long vowel, as in crudelis, 
cruel. The former is a constant, the latter an exceptional, phe- 
nomenon. Syncopation, in the first case, is the natural effect of 
contraction and the consequent juxtaposition of consonants. 
The vowel necessarily disappears, while in the latter case it is 
invariably preserved in the derivative. Compare Brachet, 
Grammar, pp. 37, 38. 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 27 

periculum, peril ; duodecim, douze ; tredecitn, 
treize ; sexdecim, seize; decimus, dime; di- 
cere, dire ; facere, faire ; dicitis, dites ; facitis, 
faites ; diximus, dimes ; fecimus, fimes ; ama- 
vimus, aimames ; dormivimus, dormimes ; 
legere, lire; credere, croire ; bibere, boire ; 
scribere, ecrire ; coquere, cuire ; frigere, 
frire ; hospit(is) , hole ; pollic(is) , pouce ; 
pulie(is), puce ; inquin(is), aine ; pectin(is), 
peigne ; ilic(is), yeuse ; judicare, juger; ad- 
jutare, aider; masticare, macher; misculare, 
meler; desiderare, desirer ; dubitare, douter ; 
rotulare, rouler; prsedicare, precher ; blas- 
phemare, blamer ; vigilare, veiller ; collocare, 
coucher ; coagulare, cailler ; navigare, nager ; 
modulare, mouler; pertusare, percer ; abra- 
dicare, arracher ; testimonium, temoin ; min- 
isterium, metier; monasterium, moutier ; 
eleemosyna, aumone ; avicellus, oiseau ; radi- 
cina, racine ; soliculus, soleil ; auricula, ore- 
ille ; apicula, abeille ; silvaticus, sauvage ; 
formaticus, fromage ; viaticum, voyage ; per- 
sicus, peche ; quercinus, chene ; quadragesi- 
mum, careme ; Sequana, Seine ; Ehodanus, 



28 THE SCIENCE OF 

Rhone ; Catalaunum, Chalons ; Stephanus, 
Etienne ; Hieronymus, Jerome ; Desiderius, 
Didier; Jovis dies, Jeudi. 

Exception. A mute and a liquid, a liquid 
and a mute, or two liquids capable of blending 
together phonetically, often persist after con- 
traction. 

Tabula, table ; littera, lettre ; populus, peu- 
ple ; seculum, siecle ; lacryma, larme ; porti- 
cus, porche; fabrica, forge ; manica, manche ; 
presbyter, pretre ; mittere, mettre ; vendere, 
vendre ; findere, fendre ; fundere, fondre ; 
tender e, tendre ; perdere, perdre ; mordere, 
mordre ; rumpere, rompre ; undecim, onze ; 
quatuordecim, quatorze ; quindecim, quinze ; 
sacramentum, serment ; latrocinium, larcin ; 
supercilium, sourcil ; dormitorium, dortoir; 
pauper(is), pauvre ; piper(is), poivre ; sul- 
phur (is), soufre ; oper(is), oeuvre ; lepor(is), 
lievre ; juniperus, genievre ; Matrona, Marne ; 
Aventicum, Avenche ; dominica, dimanche ; 
Martis dies. Mardi. 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 29 

The diversity among the infinitives of the 
3d conjugation is due to the irregular behavior 
of a mute before a liquid. 

The same rules hold good in final syllables. 

Super, sur; major, maire ; magis, mais ; 
senior, sire; pejor, pire ; pejus, pis; pectus, 
pis; latus, lez ; adsatis, assez ; vitis, vis; 
subtus, sous ; pulvis, pousse ; princeps, prince ; 
coquus, queux ; nobis, nous; vobis, vous ; 
illis, eux. 

Debes, dois ; debet, doit; moves, meus ; 
movet, meut ; vides, vois ; videt, voit ; vidit, 
vit ; vales, vaux ; valet, vaut ; habes, as; 
habet, a(t) ; fellit, faut ; jacet, git; noces, 
nuis ; nocet, nuit ; luces, luis ; lucet, luit; 
places, plais ; placet, plait ; taces,tais; tacet, 
tait ; rides, ris ; ridet, rit ; ridit, rit ; facis, 
fais ; facit, fait; fecit, fit; dicis, dis ; elicit, 
dit ; dixit, dit ; mittit, met; misit, mit ; legss, 
lis; legit, lit; scribis, ecris ; scribit, ecrit ; 
coquis, cuis ; coquit, cuit ; vivis, vis; vivit, 
vit ; bibis, bois ; bibit, boit ; frigis, fris ; 



30 THE SCIEXCE OF 

frigit, frit ; sapis, sais ; sapit, sait ; fugis, 
fuis ; fugit, fuit; credis, crois ; credit, croit 
crescis, crois; crescit, croit; pascis, pais 
pascit, pait ; cognoscis, connais ; cognoscit 
connait ; vadis, vais ; vadit, va(t) ; cingis 
ceins ; cingit, ceint; pingis, peins ; pingit 
peint ; tingis, teins ; tingit, teint ; plangis 
plains; plangit, plaint; jungis, joins; jungit 
joint; unguis, oins ; unguit, oint; bullis 
bous ; bullit, bout ; tenes, tiens ; tenet, tient 
venis, viens ; venit, . vient ; sentis, sens 
sentit, sent ; mentis, mens ; mentit, ment 
dormis, dors; dorrnit, dort; servis, sers 
servit, sert; partis, pars; partit, part; flores- 
cis, fleuris ; florescit, fleurit ; finiscis, finis 
finiscit, finit. 

Corpus, corps, O. Fr. cors, Eng. corse 
tempus, temps, O. Fr. tens, Eng. tense 
laqueus, lacs, O. Fr. las, Eng. lace; filius, 
fils, O. Fr. lis, Eng. Fitz ; lilius (barbarous 
for lilium), lis, Eng. luce; fundus, fonds, O. 
Fr. tons. 

Vendis, vends, O. Fr. vens ; vendit, vend, 
O. Fr. vent; tendis, tends, O. Fr, tens; 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 31 

tendit, tend, O. Fr. tent ; descendis, descends, 
O. Fr. descens ; descendit, descend, O. Fr. 
descent ; fundis, fonds, O. Fr. fons ; fundit, 
fond, O. Fr. font ; perdis, perds, O. Fr. pers ; 
perdit, perd, O. Fr. pert; respondes, reponds, 
O. Fr. respons ; respondet, repond, O. Fr. 
respont; prehendis, prends, O. Fr. prens ; 
prehendit, prend, O. Fr. prent ; rumpis, 
romps, O. Fr. rons ; rumpit, rompt, O. Fr. 
ront; vincis, vaincs, O. Fr. vains ; vincit, 
vainc, O. Fr. vaint; findit, fend, O. Fr. fent ; 
pendet, peiid, O. Fr. pent; tondet, tond, O. 
Fr. tont; mordet, mord, O. Fr. mort ; tor- 
quet, tord, O. Fr. tort; mittis, mets, O. Fr. 
ines ; vestis, vets, O. Fr, ves. 

The syncopation of the final consonant of 
the verb stem before a contracted monosyllabic 
Latin ending is explained by the above law. 

The examples cited from the Old French 
illustrate the interpolation of consonants in the 
so-called 2d stem. 



32 THE SCIENCE OF 

The Latin A in Final Syllables. 

Final syllables containing the Latin a are 
not contracted, but change a into e. 1 

Examples. — Nouns and adjectives of the 1st 
Latin declension ; as, — 

Eosa, rose ; luna, lime ; filia, fille ; hora, 
heure ; causa, chose ; fenestra, fenetre ; spina, 
epine : bona, bonne ; cara, chere ; tota, toute ; 
sancta, sainte. ; sicca, seche ; Laura, Laure ; 
Julia, Julie ; Johanna, Jeanne; Tolosa, Tou- 
louse ; Provincia, Provence ; Acquitania, 
Guienne ; Elias, Elie ; Eneas, Enee. 

Verbs of the 1st Latin conjugation ; as,— 

Amas, aimes ; amat, aime(t) ; arnant, 
aiment ; anm, aime ; cantas, chantes ; cantat, 
chaute(t) ; cantant, chantent; canta, chante. 

Present subjunctives of the 2d, 3d, and 4th 
conjugations ; as, — 

Debeas, doives ; clebeat, doive ; debeant, 
doivent ; habeas, aies ; habeat, ait; habeant, 

1 The reason undoubtedly is ? that «, "being the purest or most 
open of the vowels, offers a greater resistance to contraction 
than the others. 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 33 

aient; bibas, boives ; bibat, boive ; bibant, 
boivent ; facias, fasses ; faciat, fasse ; faciant, 
fassent ; sapias, saches ; sapiat, sache ; sapiant, 
sachent; servias, serves ; serviat, serve ; sei> 
viant, servent ; cognoscas, connaisses ; cog- 
noscat, connaisse ; cognoscant, connaissent ; 
florescas, fleurisses ; florescat, £eurisse ; flores- 
cant, fleurissent. 

The 3d person plural of the imperfect 
indicative of all the conjugations; as, — 

Arnabant, aimaieut ; debebant, devaient ; 
movebant, mouvaient ; dicebant, clisaient ; 
sentiebant, sentaient ; florescebant, fleuris- 
saient. 

The persistence of the Latin a in final syl- 
lables explains the non-syncopation of the 
verb-stem in the present indicative of the 1st 
conjugation and the present subjunctive of the 
2d, 3d, and 4th conjugations. 



34 THE SCIENCE OF 

Origin of the French Inflection. 

The French inflection is derived in great 
part from intermediate barbarous forms in a, 
instead of coming directly from the classical 
Latin, as commonly assumed. 

These forms are readily ascertainable by 

phonology, and are exhibited in italics in the 

-following table. They show a spontaneous 

attempt to simplify the complicated Latin 

process of inflection. 






FRENCH CONJUGATION. 35 






3 a § a 



t a s 



*1 CQ 



£ g ?h d Sh a ^ 

*-i O ^ O f* . O ;-■ O s-i O 

• O TJ O rrj O'TS O »"3 O «"£ 

ft r^ s^ ^3 w ^ wrtf w r£ w 
W 

o 

H 



CO <& 



S s> H £ .£ ^ e > .2 -2 .* .a # ® -"H 



S 



3 3^ ^ S 



^ K, 



o> 

co 

.2 o ^ 



' -u 



H 





/^S 


•1-1 +3 








/ *-^ N 




•+-3 




S-l 


>^ ^ 




/-s 




02 






© 


© 


"£ c3 




© 




© 




© 




a 


U a 


O 


a 


CO 


a 


c3 


a 


a 


"8 


S "8 


a 


"2 


s 


*s 


a 


.1—1 

c3 


o3 


^-^ 


03 w 


c3 


s w / 


c3 


v-^ 


03 





36 



THE SCIENCE OF 



B 



3 '-S 

a s 

o £ 



S3 to !ZJ 

© g O 

a s a 

^ s s 

O ^ O 



to 05 «o ai vi 





r£ 


r$ O 


■73 o 


^3 






*B 


W^ 


w^ 






T5 












© 












p 












a 












• I— 1 












-4-a 










<s> 


J3 


CO 


/^"*N 




^-^s. 


^ 


O 




to 
o '42 


S3 >w 


■4-3 
g 

© 


b 


1 


B 


> B 


&> s 


> 


•<N> 


1 




> -3 






12 


.§ 


£> 


w S> 


w 5> 


^-^ 


^ 


•w 












B 










•♦O 


o 










SJ 












<*> 

Si 


«io 

CO 


CO 


GO 

fl .CO 

o -^ 


00 to 


g 
© 




>. 


B 


> B 


fe s 






^ 




© *0 

•73 ^ 


J2 "° 








^S 


W^B 


W^3 







b 


'3 


53 


"3 


B 


'3 


co 


a 


co 


a 


<3J 


a 


£ 


3 


5* 


3 


£ 


O 


o 


t3 


o 


H3 


o 


H3 


^B 


v —' 


■^ 


^^ 


"B 


»w 



i*0 



GO 



rjl 



> © 

> .6; 



£1 



50 CO 2 M "S "^ 

sc .— C3 .r- C3 .— ( 

*§ > <D > © > 

^ © ^ © .O © 

qj n^ © r3 © t$ 

^B s — ' r$ v-^ n3 ^w 



co co 

S'3S 







p3 


CO 


22 «o 


.22 •« 


© 


-*3 


o 


B 


*c3 « 


c3 B 


a 




a 








'5 


a 


c5 


s 


"3 S 




N ' 


c3 


N^^ 


e 


w e 


>w B 



c3 

a 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 



37 



CO 

03 



« .S 



■O 
Qj 



S *-< a n 

&: o s: o 

o hj o T3 



03 

o 



© 



o 

n3 



/^N CO 

© CO © NO 



1 ,2 

a s s -s g 
3 g c g a 

^3 w^s w^ ^T3 ^ 



a s 



f, o 



co 










^^■^ 


. 


















2 

a 


CO 

.2 


CO 


© 


+3 


© 

•i— i 

c3 


03 
•<s> 

so 
03 


a 


© 


CO 


CO 
© 


-»-3 


© 


CO 

S3 


CO 

o 

•p-H 


© 


> 


© 


"> 


© 


J> 


rj 


> 


rt 


> 


c3 


> 


> 


> 




.fc 


"> 


m > 




.53 


> 




t> 


> 


> 


> 


Jo 


> 


"► 


V 


"► 


^■^ 


'> 


^W 


"► 


^^ 


"£ 


^^ 


*£ 


^•^ 


S> 


-^~> 










































io 






























8 






























03 


















CD 

s 

a 










^-N 


CO 

o> 


















CO 

.2 




© 

• i— i 


■*3 


+3 
© 

c3 


ft 


g 


© 


co 


CO 
© 
> 


«K> 


© 
> 


CO 

s 


/ — > 

CO 

o 


© 


> 


© 


> 


© 


> 




§ 


• — A 


5S 




G 




© 


> 


rO 


© 


r^> 


© 


rO 


© 




I'd 


o 


fO 


"o 


rO 


"o 


r2 


© 


© 


T3 


© 


H3 


© 


■"3 




03 


nr> 


03 


'w 


03 


r ^ 


© 


r3 


H35 


^^ 


H3 


> *-* / 


H3 






^ 


N«^ 


^ 


S*^ 


^ 




^O 


^S— ' 



CO 



8 S 



^ .CO ^N HO 

5 «S N £ 

e .2 e .2 ^ 

03 Q 03 G 03 

£& .-^ co .^ co 

S c3 R c3 R 



I a § 



co 
© 

a 



§ 3 



© 5^ 



38 THE SCIENCE OF 





1 


.2 




+2 

3 




*£ 


<o 


a 




;- 


^ 


S-4 






O 


5^, 


o 




o 


•"3 


O 


^ 




H3 




^3 




■73 










© 










3 










r^ 






























-4-3 










a 










o 




/■""S 






o 
1 


CO 
•<s> 

HO 


© 




•+3 


I 


.^ 


> 


c3 


> 


0} 


£> 


• f* 


> 


• -H 


.^ 


*oa 


> 




> 




5> 


Nw^ 


*? 


s-> 


O 










8 










.5* 










•§* 




















?o 










On 


















/«•-> 




TJl 


N 






03 


S-J 


© 


»*o 


O 


CO 


c3 




(O 


> 


Q> 


© 


"> 


5 


• >— < 


ft 


r^ 


© 


f-O 


o 


© 


T3 


<D 


H3 


T5 


^— < 


^S 


>W 



co N 



a.* § 



•co fl C5 s 

o. C3 c». 73 



•co 


m 


co 
•<s> 
so 

2 


© 


s 


3 




u 
o 


o 


T3 


O 


nd 


^ 


v*/^ 


^ 


^-^ 



• ^ ^ r3 

§ -2 GO S > 

so »co >>•<>> p* 

g S> w 5> w 

CD 



is 



CO 02 -to w 





/*-\ 


CO 


N 




© 


•<s> 


© 


c* 


s 




a 


(—1 




o«s 




s 


cr 




c3 


rt 


s «^ / 


8 


*w 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 39 

The derivation of the 3d person plural of 
the present indicative of the 2d, 3d, and 4th 
conjugations, and the present subjunctive of 
the 1st conjugation, from barbarous Latin 
forms in a, 1 explains the non-syncopation of 
the verb-stem in those places. 

1 The derivation of ons, ez, ent from amus, atis, ant, is sus- 
tained by the following considerations : — 

1st. In Latin, the plural of the present indicative of the 1st 
conjugation, the imperfect indicative of all the conjugations, and 
the present subjunctive of all except the first, ends in amus, atis, 
ant. These endings are always romanized in the same way ; 
viz. : — 



Proven cal, 


am, 


atz, 


an. 


Spanish, 


amos, 


ais, 


an. 


Italian, 


(i)amo, 


ate, 


ano. 


French, 


ons, 


ez, 


ent. 



The plural of the present indicative of the 2d, 3d, and 4th con- 
jugations differs from the first conjugation in Latin, and in all 
the Romance languages, except the French; viz. : — 





2d Conjugation. 




Latin, 


emus, 


etis, 


ent. 


Proven9al, 


em, 


etz, 


(on.) 


Spanish, 


emos, 


eis, 


en. 


Italian, 


(iamo) , 


ete, 


(ono.) 



40 THE SCIENCE OF FRENCH CONJUGATION. 

Upon these principles the whole process of 
stem-conjugation is based. 





Zd Conjugation. 




Latin, 


imus, itis, 


unt. 


Proven 9a!, 


cm, etz, 


on. 


Spanish, 


emos, eis, 


(en.) 


Italian, 


(iamo) , ete, 
4£h Conjugation. 


ono. 


Latin, 


imus, itis, 


iunt. 


Provencal, 


em, etz, 


on. 


Spanish, 


imos, is, 


(en.) 


Italian, 


(iamo) , itc, 


ono. 



It is apparent, therefore, that the French has lost the proper 
Latin terminations of the 2d, 3d, and 4th conjugations, and has 
substituted those of the 1st conjugation in their place. 

2d. The derivation of ons, ez, ent, from emus, etis, ent, or 
imus, itis, unt or iunt, is contrary to phonological principles, 
while the forms amus, atis, ant, correspond perfectly. The 
change of a into o is not without examples, as in orteil (articu- 
lns), forge (fabrica), parole (parabola), noel (natalis), poele 
(patella), etc. 

3d. The persistence of certain strong forms, as ditcs, faites, 
ont, font, vont, and Old French dimes, faimes, etc., shows the 
actual progress of this change. The syncopation of the stem- 
consonant in the 3d person plural of the present indicative was 
quite the rule in earty French, as in dient for disent, duient for 
duisent, doient for doivent, suient for suivent, lient for lisent, 
peuent for peuvent, etc. 



SCIENCE 



FRENCH CONJUGATION. 



Edward T. Williams, m. D. 



Read before the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 
February 14, 1877. 



/ 



BOSTON : 

LOCKWOOD, BROOKS, AND COMPANY, 

381 Washington Street. 

1878. 






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